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Strategic Farming: Field Notes discusses sidedress N and small grain pests

By Liz Stahl, Extension Educator – Crops, Jochum Wiersma, Extension Small Grains Specialist, and Fabian Fernandez, Extension Nutrient Management Specialist The status of nitrogen for this year’s crop, sidedressing tips, and small grains disease and insect pests were discussed on the June 4, University of Minnesota Extension Strategic Farming: Field Notes program. Drs. Fabian Fernandez, Nutrient Management Specialist, and Jochum Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist, discussed these issues with moderator UMN Extension Crops Educator, Claire LaCanne. Nitrogen status A lack of snow cover, frost, or soil moisture this spring left us with soils with a lot of water storage capacity and little chance of runoff. Any precipitation we have received so far has essentially been staying in the soil, leading to less potential for nitrogen (N) losses. Specifically, N losses due to denitrification (a key source of N loss in saturated soils) or nitrate leaching (when nitrate-N is lost through the soil p...
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More Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN): How is this N rec calculated?

Today on the Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast series, Brad and Dan tell us how the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) approach to N rate recommendations is calculated. What does the MRTN actually measure for farmers? What's the reason the MRTN recommendations were created? What kind of / how many rate trials are used to build the dataset? Does the MRTN rate recommendation approach work well in all Minnesota regions? Brad and Dan cover this and more on today's show. TRANSCRIPT Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Dan Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: Corn Rate Calculator What to know about the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) approach to corn N rate guidelines The history of N rate recommendations in Minnesota: What farmers should know Nitrogen Smart --- Click here to listen to all Advancing Nitrogen Smart podcast episodes. For the latest nutrient management information, subscribe to the Nutrient Management Podcas...
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Roots and Rotation: A soil health field day series

Roots and Rotation is a summer field day series happening across Minnesota. These field days will discuss the use of livestock for soil health goals in different agricultural systems. The series has two topical tracks for farmers and advisors of all situations. Integrating soil health principles into grazing practices The field days in this track focus on soil health practices and regenerative grazing management strategies. Learn how to improve your operation with insights from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and see the impact firsthand through a live rainfall simulator and other demonstrations. Discover how to implement effective grazing infrastructure, like fencing and watering systems, to improve land productivity and increase profitability. This workshop is designed for producers looking to improve their operations while conserving natural resources. For more information about each field day, click the links below: June 9, 2025 - Frazee, MN June 10, 2025 - Hine...
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Early-bird registration extended for Field School for Ag Professionals

The deadline for the early-bird registration discount has been extended through June 15. Take advantage of this opportunity to attend both days of this event for $299 or one day for $169. The Field School for Ag Professionals is our premier summer training opportunity that combines hands-on, interactive training with real-world field scenarios to help you enhance your troubleshooting and crop management skills. This event will occur on July 29 and 30 on the University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in St. Paul. Additional details for the event, including course descriptions can be found on the event page . Register here .
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Spray Early and Often….Is That Really True?

While the first part of that title may have been true when trying to control powdery and downy mildew with Bordeaux mixture in wine grapes, it is no longer the case when controlling small grain diseases with the current systemic fungicides. When does adding a fungicide to your herbicide program in small grains make sense? The simplest answer is “ Only when you have found disease in your field or have insufferable early-season disease risk ”.  Adding fungicides in the absence of a disease does not buy you anything other than risking crop injury, as certain fungicide formulations may ‘heat up’ specific herbicides. It is therefore important to read the label restrictions on the herbicides and fungicides you plan to use. What about yield? This past winter, Dr. Andrew Friskop, NDSU Extension Plant Pathologist, summarized 16 years of fungicide timing trials across North Dakota (Figure 1). One of the questions he wanted to answer was when it made sense to make an early-season fung...
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Alfalfa Harvest Alert for May 30

Jackie Estrem, UMN Extension Educator- Sustainable Agriculture, Stearns, Benton, Morrison, &  Sherburne Counties, and Taylor Herbert, UMN Extension Educator- Crops, Wright, McLeod, & Meeker Counties Well this is it! The last Alfalfa Harvest Alert for the 2025 season. The last round of samples were  taken on the 26th and 27th of May and all but one cooperating farm has harvested as of today. In comparison to last year, warm conditions at the beginning of this season kick-started rapid growth in alfalfa plants. Similarly, rain and cool weather delayed harvest in some fields although alfalfa weevil pressure was much reduced compared to last year.  Overall, we saw an early window for alfalfa harvest for some farms before rain delays. In the coming weeks, farms should still scout for alfalfa weevil feeding in regrowth, especially in windrows, even though winter conditions may have caused more mortality in than previous years. For more info on alfalf...
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Strategic Farming: Field Notes talks forage and pasture management

By Liz Stahl, Extension Educator – Crops, Anthony Hanson, Extension Educator – Integrated Pest Management, and Troy Salzer, Extension Educator – Ag Production Systems Forage pests, the status of the forage crop, and pasture management were topics of discussion on the May 28 University of Minnesota Extension Strategic Farming: Field Notes program. Anthony Hanson, UMN Extension Educator in Integrated Pest Management, and Troy Salzer, UMN Extension Educator – Ag Production Systems, discussed these issues and more, with moderator UMN Extension Crops Educator, Dave Nicolai. Status of the alfalfa crop Although there was enough snow cover in parts of northern MN this past winter, overall, we didn’t have a lot of snow cover over much of the state. Times of little snow cover often correlated to our coldest spells, resulting in some alfalfa winter kill, especially with older stands. Considering these factors, some fields might be looking a little rough this spring. Be sure to evaluate stands,...
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